Since the advent and recent proliferation of 3D printing, otherwise known as additive manufacturing, countless structures previously manufactured using traditional techniques and materials have been replicated using 3D printing techniques. Manufacturers have shown that 3D printing can be used to make virtually any type of product, ranging from simple household items to complex industrial components to—eventually—human organs. Even vehicles have been recently manufactured using 3D printing systems.
Notably, the structural discrepancies between traditionally manufactured products and 3D-printed products are often virtually undiscernible. However, certain characteristics are difficult to reproduce using 3D printing tools. One notable example includes flexibility which, in the case of seats (or cushions, pillows, mattresses, etc.), provides comfort for the user. Traditionally, foam, such as polyurethane, has been poured and molded into a desired shape, and flexible structures are formed during the foaming process that provide both flexibility and support. On the other hand, 3D-printed objects often feel relatively rigid in comparison to foam-filled structures. Because the comfortableness of a seat is an essential feature that affects whether a user can, or is willing to, sit in the seat for extended periods of time, techniques for producing a flexible 3D-printed support apparatus are required in order for such products to be accepted by consumers.